This information paper outlines the findings from the Indigenous Mortality Quality Study which was conducted as part of the Census Data Enhancement (CDE) project. The CDE project included a number of quality studies which brought together data from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing and other specified datasets. One aim of these studies was to better understand and improve Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collections.

The CDE Indigenous Mortality Quality Study involved linking Census records with death registration records to examine differences in the reporting of Indigenous status across the two datasets. The aims of the project were to:

assess the undercoverage of Indigenous deaths in death registration records;

identify factors that may be contributing to undercoverage of Indigenous deaths in death registrations; and

assess the feasibility of calculating and applying adjustment factors to improve estimates of Indigenous mortality.

The CDE Indigenous Mortality Quality Study linked 2006 Census records with deaths registered for the 11-month period following the Census. Death records examined related to deaths that occurred and were registered over the 11-month period. Due to lags between occurrence and registration, the number of death registrations would be lower than the number of deaths that occurred, particularly for those deaths occurring towards the end of the period. Records were linked during the Census processing period using name, address and other variables that were common across the two datasets, but excluding Indigenous status. After Census processing was completed, all names and addresses held by the ABS on Census records and the linked dataset were destroyed. Following completion of analysis, the linked dataset was also destroyed.

All of the CDE studies have strict data security procedures in place to ensure confidentiality. These procedures were followed for this study. For further information on the CDE project see the Statistician's Census Data Enhancement: Statement of Intention, available on the ABS website, and the following ABS papers:

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